Adoption FAQ

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Adoption requires an application with reference checks and a home visit. We place dogs all over the United States, but the majority
go to homes in the New York to New England area. For the most part, our dogs are strictly indoor companions. We generally do not do
livestock guardian dog placements as most of our dogs would be particularly bad livestock guardians. In simple terms, our dogs would
probably think chickens are tasty. From time to time, we do take in livestock guardian dogs and if you are interested in an LGD,
please contact us directly for an LGD application as we have an entirely different set of criteria for an LGD placement.

Adoptions are made on a best home basis. If two excellent applications come in for the same dog, our policy is first in time, first in line. Our goal
is to have the very best home for all our dogs. All our dogs are in private foster homes either in the South or in several states in New England waiting
to be adopted. We carefully screen our dogs for temperament to ensure we are placing the right dog in the right home. Keeping our dogs in private
homes allows us to tell you all about your dog. A dog in a kennel or shelter location does not have the benefit of family interaction and it is our goal
to ensure that every dog is carefully screened.

What Are the Adoption Costs?

Our adoption fee is $500 for all dogs over the age of 6 months. Puppies under the age of 6 months have an adoption fee of $600.

Our goal is to not lose money and our adoption fee covers all vetting costs, including: pull fees charged to Rescue by shelters and animal control facilities, spay/neuter costs, all shots including bordetella (kennel cough), distemper/parvo/lepto, rabies, and canine influenza (where available and age appropriate) fecal and heartworm and tick-borne disease screening, and treatment as needed, heartworm and flea preventative, microchip and registration, grooming and any other costs which may be incurred. Of the total adoption fee, $125 goes to the transport company, rescue pay for transport fee and $75 goes to cover state and federal mandated charges, at $75 - $100 per dog depending on location. The remainder of this fee covers vetting costs and any other costs like boarding, grooming, collars, ID tags and so on.

On average, we spend more than $643 per dog, and we make up the difference through fundraising.

Why does adopting a dog cost so much?

It is true that many government-run shelters may have a very low adoption fee to adopt a dog. However, most do not provide the
vet care we do and those that do are heavily subsidized by taxpayers. We applaud the work that shelters do, but we do not have the
resources of the taxpaying public to support our work. It is expensive to properly vet a giant breed dog. The adoption donations we
receive allow us to continue rescuing other big fluffy dogs in need. Many times the dogs we take in are in poor physical condition and
are in need of extensive vet care. A dog that has heartworms can cost $800 to treat. Orthopedic issues can run in to the thousands
of dollars. We do fund raise to cover these special needs dogs, but adoption donations allow us to keep doing rescue.

Every adopter is part of rescue. Adopters take our dogs and "finish" their rescue by making them family members.
Without adopters, we could not continue our work. We thank you for considering rescue.

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